Sunday, August 16, 2009

An international sensation, this addictively readable tale asks the question: Why is it so impossible to get a relationship between two middle-aged misfits to work? The answer lies in the story of Shrimp, a young widowed librarian with a sharp intellect and a home so tidy that her jam jars are in alphabetical order; Benny, a gentle, overworked milk farmer who fears becoming the village's Old Bachelor; and an unlikely love that should not be as complicated as it seems. Reminiscent of the works of Carol Shields, this quirky, humorous, beautifully told novel breathes new life into the age-old conundrum that is love.

Received from the publicist for review.

Although the author (and characters?) seem to take it for granted that all women yearn for children, this was still an interesting story. I guess it was a romance after all, so I shouldn't really be surprised.

I'm not entirely sure how I feel about the book. I found it nice and light at the beginning (I found myself smiling many times throughout - a sweet smile, not a funny smile.), but it got steadily deeper and rather darker. It's a very unusual romance, if you can even call it that. The characters were likable overall. This is a translation as well, and it really rather read like one, but not in a bad way.

I also have seriously never read the word "ovaries" so many times in one book outside of a biology text!! There were jumping ovaries and yearning ovaries and such. They were very energetic ovaries and they seemed to be prominently featured in every chapter.

This one gets seven stars. It was an interesting, and very real, story but it left me vaguely unsatisfied - like when you can't quite get the price sticker goo off of a picture frame's glass. It was certainly worth reading, and was really quite a quick read. It's the perfect read if you're looking for something a bit more on the intellectual, reality based romance side.